Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 30,067 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• Oppenheimer & Co. cut its Citizens Financial Group stake by 49.2% in the third quarter, selling 30,067 shares and retaining 31,018 shares valued at approximately $1.98 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.9% of CFG.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.28, despite several firms recently lowering their targets.
• Citizens Financial Group reported quarterly EPS of $1.41, exceeding estimates of $1.39, and increased its quarterly dividend from $0.46 to $0.52 per share, implying a 3.3% annualized yield.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 49.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,018 shares of the bank's stock after selling 30,067 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CFG. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,415,046,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 7,979.7% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 12,165,352 shares of the bank's stock valued at $775,663,000 after buying an additional 12,014,785 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1,252.4% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,204,563 shares of the bank's stock worth $586,883,000 after acquiring an additional 8,523,938 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $223,386,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $207,234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Argus set a $80.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.28.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $63.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.00 and a 12-month high of $75.33. The business has a 50 day moving average of $66.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.54. The company has a market capitalization of $26.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.72.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 9.52%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.30 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Citizens Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its principal subsidiary, Citizens Bank, provides banking and financial services to consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutional clients.

The company offers consumer deposit accounts, residential mortgages, home equity financing, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Its commercial banking activities include business loans, equipment financing, treasury management, capital markets services and investment banking.

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